RECOGNIZING GOD’S VOICE
John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.
When I think about recognizing God’s voice, I think about the stories of:
a) Noah who was told to build the ark, though rain was not forecasted.
b) Abraham who was told to leave his home and go to a land God would show him.
It’s safe to say that these people knew God’s voice when they heard it, otherwise:
a) Noah would have waited for evidence of rain
b) Abraham would have demanded a map and the deed to the land
These people recognized God’s voice because they walked close to God.
Genesis 6:9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.
Genesis 12:4 So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
John 10:3-5 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
We are all following someone’s voice and it’s either the Shepherds voice or the voice of a stranger.
As Christians we should be keen to follow God’s voice, but do we recognize it when we hear it?
John 8:47 Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
The enemy came to deceive even those who already belong to Christ. Satan knows that Christians get to go to heaven, so his only ploy is to trip us up so that we cannot live the life God intended for us to live while we are here on earth.
John 10:10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
Matthew 24:24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.
The enemy tries to deceive us up by disguising himself (voice). So, it stands to reason that the devil’s voice would sound reasonable, normal, logical, as well as be popular and current. He is even crafty enough to sound humble and holy, all so that we would be tricked into hearing his voice and mistake it for God’s voice.
Hypothetical Example:
When God told Noah to build and ark, I’m sure the enemy took the opportunity to tell Noah through good friends, neighbours, and community that the ark idea was ridiculous. The enemy would have sounded logical and reasonable. In fact, he probably would have sounded caring in trying to protect Noah’s reputation. The enemy’s sly attempt would have been to discourage the building of the ark, so that everyone would be destroyed!
Luke 4:9-13 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.10 For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
2 Corinthians 11:14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
Instead Noah was able to distinguish God’s voice from the enemy’s voice. He knew it so well, that he would have ignored and resisted the thoughts and opinions of those around him even though those outsiders may have meant well. In doing so, they resisted the devil.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
It’s much like poor Peter who meant well but would have thwarted God’s plan if Jesus had listened to him.
Matthew 16:21-23 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. 22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”
In the end, not only did Noah and Abraham recognize God’s voice, but they acted on it in faith.
Noah built the ark even when he saw no rain and Abraham left his home with no map or deed.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:6 And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
James 1:6-7 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Recognizing God’s voice should not dumbfound us. We are equipped to hear it.
1 – We have the word of God which is never contrary to His voice. So, if we spend time in His word, we begin to recognize His heart and His ways and ultimately His voice.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
2 – We have the Holy Spirt who dwells within us, helping us to hear and understand God.
John 14:16-17 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.
John 14:26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
3 – We have God’s ear in prayer and when we pray and speak to God, He listens and answers us.
Matthew 7:7-8 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
1 Peter 3:12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”
John 15:7 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.
Romans 8:16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.